Today marks 4 days before I head back to France (I write this a few days ago and just arrived this morning). I am feeling both very excited and very sad about leaving. I was not expecting to be home the entire summer, but things just sort of fell into place this way and I think it was for the best. I had an amazing summer at home with my family, pets, and friends and I am so very sad to be leaving them, but I am very excited for all of the adventures I have planned. Last semester before I left, I felt like I couldn't express this duality of feelings and that I could only express the excited side and that I would be ungrateful if I didn’t express that I was also sad to leave home and USC. It is okay to be feeling both of these things before you leave, two things can be true at once. You can cry while hugging your dog goodbye, and still be excited to travel the world and that is okay.
Now, away from that. To prepare for study abroad here are my tips:
The most obvious: PACK LIGHTLY!
I wayyyy over packed for my study abroad and now I have absolutely zero clue how I will get all of my stuff back. You can buy stuff there!
If you have family helping you move, consider renting a car.
When we moved over, my dad rented a car, and it ended up being super useful for going back and forth from the store. I don't know how we would've hauled everything otherwise.
Invest in a good travel backpack. It will definitely be used. Here are some great options I've found:
Amazon.com: Large Travel Backpack Women, Carry On Backpack,Hiking Backpack Waterproof Outdoor Sports Rucksack Casual Daypack Fit 14 Inch Laptop with USB Charging Port Shoes Compartment, Beige : Sports & Outdoors
Béis 'The Backpack' in Biege - Beige Travel Backpack & Laptop Backpack (beistravel.com)
Packing cubes! I can't even express how much these helped with space. As a chronic over packer these really helped me bring more stuff in a smaller space
Amazon.com: 8 Set Packing Cubes for Suitcases, kingdalux Travel Luggage Packing Organizers with Laundry Bag, Compression Storage Shoe Bag, Clothing Underwear Bag, for Man & Women : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry
Get noise cancelling headphones! Just do it. This was a big regret of mine from last semester. On the flight to wherever you're going its great because it blocks out noise from the plane and other people so much better than regular headphones. Here's a couple at different price points:
This is a kind of dumb one, but bring lots of American deodorant. For whatever reason the deodorant in Europe is not the same as in the US. I'm sure it's because it's not as toxic, but if you're like me and you cannot stand feeling even slightly stinky, bring your own deodorant. I made the mistake of trying French deodorant and I spent 9 euros on a really nice one that was supposed to work, but ended up bringing it everywhere with me because it simply did not work and I constantly had to reapply.
Stock up on medicine: In Europe it's hard to get certain medicines like sudafed and as someone who is constantly battling her sinuses, this was a huge struggle.
Bring cheap flip flops you can bring in the shower. This was something I regretted not bringing because a lot of the showers in places we were staying, especially in hostels were very gross and you can get diseases from public showers like that. Bring them with you because I didn't, and I had to go on a wild goose chase through Paris to find them and finally found them at a mall on the outskirts and they were 23 euros which is far more than I would have paid in the US.
That's all I can think of for right now! I hope you all have the best semester abroad!